And now, 3000 Weeks!

Today, Thursday, January 24, 2013, marks the first day of the 3000th week of my life. It’s a good, substantial number, exactly the right number that brings me to this point of moment and place. I thank life, chance and the shifting dance that is being for this opportunity to observe it. And to celebrate it! Celebrate I am, for over on Confabule, the 3000 Weeks project is open to the public. Guided by Confabule’s editorial director, Amanda Kimmerly, the project is a showcase for dozens of the creative people who have inspired and befriended me at all periods of my life.

Proud as I am of the number of authors and artists who responded to my invitation to participate, there are many individuals I wish were represented who, for a variety of reasons, are not. A few are among my honored dead, deceased friends for whom I had not time or resource to track down heirs for necessary permissions. The late Diane Bertram, Albert Huffstickler, Brett Palomar and Bill Narum are especially yawning absences. Of Rhandon Hurst and Ricardo Sañchez, unfortunately, I could scrape together only traces.

The 3000 Weeks project went public today, but the project is not complete. There will be tweaks and enhancements, and we’re hosting a live event Saturday night here in Austin. This evening, I sit down to sign contracts and write out checks. This, too, is 3000 Weeks. It is not the creative part, but it is a chore undertaken with the satisfaction that it is part of what creates.